Lint removing surface cleaner for garments



Feb. 1, 1966 J. H. MARKS 3,231,918

LINT REMOVING SURFACE CLEANER FOR GARMENTS Filed Sept. 11, 1963 Fig. 40 /2 Fig. 2

Jerry h. Marks INVENTOR.

BY Ana Wow; '8

Attorney:

United States Patent 3,231,913 LINT REMOVING SURFACE CLEANER FOR i GARMENTS Jerry H. Marks, PD. Box 1198, Watsonville, Calif.

Filed Sept. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 308,159 1 Claim.v (Cl. 15104) The present invention relates to a hand-held appliance or device which is such in construction that a user thereof may readily apply the effective surface thereof to a selected surface of the garment which is to be touched up and made presentable by the removal therefrom of lint, loose hairs, dandruff and miscellaneous small particles which, construed as dirt, adhere to the statedsurface. 1

Satisfactory removal of lint and the like from a garment surface can be, and often is, a tedious and timeconsuming task. In fact, and when the nap or special finish of the garment is a natural lint-collector neither a clothes brush nor a'whiskbroom can be relied upon to do a good job. With a View toward assisting in solving the lint removal problem, that is with expediency and satisfaction, special adhesive tapes, of one brand or another, are being manufactured and sold for the purpose. As a matter of fact, hand-held holders for adhesive tape have also been brought into use. For the individual who desires a readily available personal-type lint remover special adaptations have been devised and ap propriated for use and, considering the same as prior art, two reference patents will be mentioned. Krasno 2,724,847 is indicative of the state of the art to which the present invention relates. However and as more nearly in resemblance to the instant invention the patent to Norman 3,029,453 (now re-issue 25,436) is also exemplary of the development of the art. It follows, too, that the present invention pertains to an improvement upon the Norman patent.

In carrying out the present invention and, in additon to providing opposed front and back walls which define a sleeve-like member the back wall in the instant matter is made of lightweight but durable flexible cardboard or the like and the front wall is made of a thinner sheet material stock which may continue a length of adhesive tape, the end portions of the tape overlapping and being adhesively attached to the interior of the upper ends of the back wall and said end portion also having V- shaped or equivalent accordion-like pleats or folds which provide an open ended sleeve which while normally flat when not being used is capable of being opened up and expanded when it is applied for use to the fingers of the users hand.

A further improvement resides in the provision of individual peelable cover sheets for the tacky or adhesive surface of the lint pickup and removing face of the front wall. By peeling these cover sheets apart in opposite directions the adhesive media is fully exposed and when the device is applied to the users hand the ad hasive surface can be patted, lightly brushed or otherwise handled to pick up and remove lint and similar appearance-marring deposits.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front or, alternatively, a plan view of a lint removing garment surface cleaner embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an edge view of the same, that is, a view observing FIG. 1 in a direction from left to right;

3,231,918 Patented Feb. 1, 1966 FIGURE 3 is a view in perspective showing the front and back members or walls parted and with the device opened or expanded to sleeve-shape so that it may be applied over the fingers of the hand and which also shows the peelable cover flaps and how they are used to uncover and expose the tacky or equivalent adhesive surface;

FIGURE 4 is a view on an enlarged scale of the upper portion of the collapsed device as illustrated in FIG. 2; and FIGURE 5 is an expanded view on the same scale and based on FIG. 4.

.With reference to the views of the drawing it will be seen that the device, construed as a structural entity or unit is designated by the numeral 8 and takes the form of an open-ended sleeve. This sleeve is shown in its open ready-to-use condition in FIG. 3 and in its folded flatwise or compact form in FIGS. 1 and 2 in particular. One elongated wall or component parts is conveniently designated here as the rear wall 10, this appearing at the left in FIG. 3. This wall is rectangular in plan. The upper end of this wall is denoted at 12 and the lower end at 14, these being the transverse ends. This wall is formed form a piece or blank of relatively thin easily bendable cardboard and the interior lengthwise surface is smooth and, of course, non-sticky as denoted at 16 in FIG. 3. The opposed complemental wall is also rectangular, generally speaking, and is denoted by the numeral 18. The upper transverse end portion of this wall is fashioned into a V-shaped fold 20 and the terminal end portion overlaps the upper interior surface 16 as designated at 22 and is glued or otherwise attached thereto as at 24. This is also true of the corresponding lower terminal end portion 26. That is to say, it overlaps the lower part of the surface 16 and is adhesively attached thereto in the manner already described. Then, too, the V-shaped fold or folded portion 28 is directly below or opposite the firstnamed V-shaped fold 20. These two folded portions are also referred to as expansible and contractible accordion-like webs and the webs are collapsed as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 in particular and are spread apart to provide the open-ended sleeve arrangement as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5. Whereas the interior surface of this front wall 18 is of suitable smooth-surfaced cons-truction the out-er or work-performing wall is coated with adhesive media 36. The adhesive is the same type as is customarily used on or in connection with lint-removing adhesive tape. This adhesive or tacky surface is normally concealed and in fact covered by two duplicate cover flaps one denoted at 32 covering the upper halfportion and the other one 34 covering the lower halfportion. The free cooperating edge portions are denoted at 36 and 38. The attachable end portions are denoted at 40 and 42 and in each instance the end portion is adhesively or otherwise attached to the component parts of the expansible and contractible V-fold or Web 20 and 28 as the case may be. It follows that the retainable end portions 40 and 42 are permanently attached and the edge portions 36 and 38 are arranged normally in abutting relationship as denoted at 44 in FIG. 1. By catching hold of a corner portion, for example at 46 either or both flaps can be parted and peeled back in a manner to completely expose the tacky lint-removing surface or face 30.

It follows that the ready-to-use pocket-size personaltype device is characterized by the aforementioned flexible cardboard or equivalent backing or back wall 10 and the complemental plastic or paper adhesive front wall 18 with terminal end portions overlapping and bonded to the corresponding upper and lower end portions of the interior surface of the backing and wherein the ends are of expansible and contractible form, more specifically, accordion webs. With the construction illustrated in FIG. 3 it will be evident that the device is fitted over the fingers of the hand, not just a couple of fingers as in the aforementioned Krasno patent, but over the fingers of the entire hand with the thumb either in or out of the sleeve when it is being used. Either one or both of the cover flaps 32 and 34 may be opened so that the user can employ either half of the adhesive or tacky surface 30 or all of it as the case may be. By lightly brushing the surface over the spot or spots on the garment which are to be cle-linted quick and effective results can be had.

With the construction shown and described it will be apparent that when the parts are in fiatwise contact as illustrated, for example, in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the then existing article is compact and easy to store or carry. When it is necessary to bring it into use all that is re quired is to separate or part the tWo main walls 10 and 18 to form the open-ended sleeve or cuff after which the same may be attached to the users hand and employed in the manner described.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A device for enabling the user thereof to apply a surface of the same to a spot or area on a garment with a view toward picking up loose lint, dandruff and small particles comprising a flexible bendable rear wall generally rectangular in plan, a complemental opposed front wall likewise rectangular in plan and having an interior surface thereof opposed to an interior surface of the back wall, said front wall having an exterior usable surface coated with adhesive media and providing a tacky particle pickup surface, and a pair of cover flaps having inner adjacent edges abutting each other, said flaps being separably superimposed on the tacky surface and peelable singly or collectively therefrom to expose the normally covered underlying tacky surface for pickup requirements, the outer end portions of the respective flaps being permanently attached to corresponding end portions of said front wall, said last-named end portions of said front well being joined to respective corresponding ends of said back wall by way of V-shaped bent-in duplicate folds, said folds providing double-ply expansible and contractible accordion-type webs, said webs serving to permit said walls to be parted and spread apart a distance suflicient to provide an open-ended sleeve.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,435,890 2/1948 Lembeck 2-158 2,800,215 7/1957 Converse 15104 XR 2,841,275 7/1958 Schwimmer et al 206-57 2,915,767 12/1959 Vaughn 15227 3,082,453 3/1963 Musthler et a1. 15-l04 Re. 25,435 8/1963 Norman 15104 DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Examiner. 

